Paradox adopts DLC subscription model

[Infinitron]

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/experimentation.1311555/

Greetings!

Tomorrow Tuesday the 21st of January 2020 we’ll release a patch for EU4 called 1.29.4. As this patch will seemingly do nothing for you except change the version number and checksum we thought we should explain what’s going on.

We are running a few experiments aimed at reducing the threshold for new players to access the full EU4 experience. We are approaching this in a data-driven way, somewhat related to what we did in CK2 a few years back (and that test turned out great when it comes to growing the CK2 family around the globe!); which means that we cannot fully disclose how exactly it will look, as that will interfere with the test. What we can say is that it’s fully and completely optional and does not require you to interact with it in any way.

We hope that these experiments do not negatively impact your game experience, but, since updates have the potential to cause unforeseen effects, it is important that you know what is happening.

Tomorrow’s patch changes nothing that should affect mod compatibility. Mods that worked on 1.29.3 should work with no problems on 1.29.4. However, if a mod has specified 1.29.3 as it’s level of compatibility it will say it is outdated in the launcher, even if in reality it would work as normal. Hopefully your mods already have 1.29.* compatibility specified in which case there should be no effect whatsoever. If they are not though: it should be completely safe to run the mods anyway.

EDIT 18:00CET 2020-01-21 (go to pdx_pdawg's post)

Hi everyone! Pontus, team lead for EU4 marketing supporting Björn real quick. Since “the cat is out of the bag” me and the team wanted to clarify a few things before speculations are running to rampant and are established as truths:

- Yes, we want to test a subscription model for EU4.

We have heard for years from existing and potential new players that the cost of getting the game and all expansions all at once is quite expensive (and might be discouraging for completely new EU4 fans), it's been supported for almost 7 years after all. A subscription model has been suggested to us on many occasions, so we thought we'd run a test to see how popular such a service would be.

- No, we are NOT replacing the current model or changing how anything works now. We are simply adding another option.

Expansions and other DLC's, both existing and upcoming, will still be available for purchase as usual for those who prefer that. We will not remove any content from anyone or make future content exclusive to people with a subscription. Nobody will be forced to pay again for content they have already purchased, and you will get to choose if you want to subscribe to get future DLC or continue purchasing the items individually just as you’ve always done.

- The cost of such a service is one of the things we want to decide based on the test.

This will help us assess how the presentation has performed, and help us determine how we should value any subscription offer in the future (if it ends up being a desired feature). This, unfortunately, is why we were so cagey about this experiment.

In hindsight we might have been a little more open about this process -- we know, as our long-time fans, this model may not be aimed at you (again, none of your existing purchases are going to be charged again). We wanted to try and gather data from people who encountered this new idea without prior bias or discussion (makes for a better experiment). That’s why we were keeping things “on the DL,” as the kids say.

That's pretty much all there is to it at this point. A limited group of people will be receiving this offer, and it's entirely up to these people whether or not they want to jump on the offer or not.

Thanks for your keen interest on this topic. You are of course welcome to share your ideas on what you think of such a service with us.

 

[mondblut]

What exactly do they mean by "subscription"? Can it still be pirated?

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

season pass.
i pass.

 

[cw8]

Will fail. Paying subs is already stupid. Paying subs for DLC is beyond stupid.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

We are running a few experiments aimed at reducing the threshold for new players to access the full EU4 experience

hmmm…
https://www.pcgamesn.com/crusader-kings-3/paradox-business-model

With other games, Jorjani says, players often look at the list of available DLC and work out what they need for a ‘good game experience,’ but for Paradox’s titles, like Crusader Kings II and Europa Universalis IV, the DLC functions as optional add-ons, things that might appeal to certain players but aren’t at all crucial parts of the experience.

“You don’t need leather seats in a car; the car comes with seats,” he said. “Leather seats are extra. You still get a pretty cool car.”

to access the full EU4 experience

HMMMM…

 

[Mikeal]

Pierdolcie się.

 

[fizzelopeguss]

"We have heard for years from existing and potential new players that the cost of getting the game and all expansions all at once is quite expensive (and might be discouraging for completely new EU4 fans)"

Then drop the price? retards.

 

[Infinitron]

A DLC subscription just for EU4 isn't worth it, but a monthly subscription for all Paradox grand strategy games seems like it could be a good deal for dedicated fans. Pay $5 a month/$60 a year to experience each new DLC as a free update. They can't go more expensive than Microsoft's Game Pass, right?

 

[what am i doing]

Maybe they feel they have gotten their community to accept the whole notion of buying incomplete games, to the point that just subscribing for their continued development seems reasonable instead of paying constantly.
Paradox is not a company that feels any good will towards their customers, so a consumer-friendly change like reducing the price or, god forbid, actually working on getting their games finished before release, was never going to happen.

 

[Norfleet]

I have only one response to this: ARR, MATEY!

 

[Galdred]

From Strategygamer.com

PARADOX ARE TESTING OUT AN OPTIONAL DLC SUBSCRIPTION MODEL FOR EU4
BY JOE ROBINSON 23 JAN 2020 0
Paradox continue to experiment and test out what they can do with their mammoth grand-strategy games, with EU4 being the latest game to get some experimental attention in the form of an optional subscription model for the DLC.


This is an attempt to “reduce the threshold” for newer players to gain access to the wealth of DLC the historical grand-strategy game has. It can easily cost nearly $300 for the essential gameplay content, well over that amount for all of the cosmetic stuff as well. Even with Steam Sales and ridiculous Humble Bundles, it’s a difficult prospect to consider in one go.

Originally, the dev and marketing teams wanted to ‘stealth’ test an early form of the subscription by not telling anyone about it since it was only going to be targeting a small selection of the player-base. However, because the game needed to be physically updated resulting in a version number change and a new checksum, they decided to go live with this post.


It didn’t take long for players to go digging around the files, and the truth was out - a new subscription option! The files only showed the text-based localisation information, but eventually the full screenshot was revealed as well:

This all resulted in a follow-up post which attempted to do some damage control and clarify what the situation was.

It’s worth noting that part of the image references that new subscribers will get a new unique unit skin for the game for starting a subscription. This has since been debunked - it was originally proposed but the idea was scrapped, however it seems they didn’t get around to changing the advertisement.

As you can imagine, the entire thread is a mixture of hysteria, genuine concern, loyal support and then Community Manager ‘BjornB’ stalwartly answering questions as far as he’s able to. I’m not going to try and pick apart the communication strategy here, but I do think developers continually underestimate the player-base's ability to just go digging around game files. If you want to ‘stealth test’ something, you really need to think harder about it.

The subscription model itself though is yet another attempt to answer a growing legacy of questions that started cropping up post-CK2. Paradox Interactive grand-strategy games are simultaneously the best, and the most problematic, strategy experiences available right now. The amount of gameplay hours you can get from these games is ridiculous, and it’s a testament that it took nearly a decade for games like CK2 to warrant a sequel - with all the intervening years filled with DLC and post-release support.

But that same post-release content library is also its biggest weakness. These games have essentially re-written the rules on post-release support and DLC, but as all good pioneers do they’ve kind of made it up as they’ve gone along. It’s starting to cause problems.

Imperator: Rome suffered the full weight of this legacy, and I daresay CK3 and other future games will get stung by it as well until the issues are resolved one way or another.

I don’t think a subscription model is a bad direction to experiment with but it of course depends on the details. I don’t even mind unit skins being offered up as a unique bonus to subscribers. I’ve never cared about them anyway and despite loud protestations on the forums, I doubt the majority of the community does either.

It will be interesting to see how this test goes, and whether it’s still viable now that so much attention is on it.

 

[JarlFrank]

Solution for helping new players jump into the game without robbing them of 100 bucks:

Don't charge 15 to 20 bucks for an "expansion" that changes 3 features.

I don't mind buying DLC for a game I like but Paradox's DLC policy is beyond ridiculous. I've bought DLC for other strategy games that was priced at around the same mark as Paradox DLCs, which added entire new campaigns. Meanwhile you can also get entire new factions and unit rosters for the Total War games for the price of 3 cosmetic DLCs in a Paradox game. Not defending Total War's DLC policy, it's also got some overpriced stuff, but it's not even close to Paradox's ridiculous jewery.

If you compare Paradox DLCs to similarly priced DLCs of other strategy games, you'll see that they barely add any content for the money they charge. And to add insult to injury, Paradox also released dozens of completely useless cosmetic packs that add new unit models (in games where you never zoom in close enough to look at unit models anyway because what's the point, combat is fully abstracted there's nothing to look at) or a couple of new music tracks.

If you look at the Steam reviews of some of the more useless Paradox DLCs, you'll also see mostly negative review scores because people feel like they didn't get their money's worth.

And to buy the entire package... EU IV is currently on sale. It costs 116 bucks to buy the complete bundle.
The full price when not on sale is 270 bucks.

That's just utterly ridiculous. And it's not like you can just easily pick what you like. For Rome Total War 2, for example, there are campaign DLCs for Caesar in Gaul, Hannibal's invasion, the Peloponnesian war... if you don't care about those campaigns, you can ignore the DLC. If you do care about those campaigns, you know what you'll get when you buy the DLC.

Meanwhile Paradox DLC adds small new features to the base game that potentially change the way the game plays, and usually the most recent patch of the game is balanced around these features. So you absolutely should get all of the major DLCs. The game feels like a cut-down, half-baked experience without them. But they're also small enough changes that you won't feel like you got your money's worth from it, unlike with Rome 2's campaign expansions.

 

[Mortmal]

It's even more stupid than their current business model , they are trying desperatley to aim to the mainstream and a public that doesnt even exists . Players interested in paradox grand strategy games are nerds with income , the current business model is even insulting as we know how to count and can see the global prices of all those tiny micro extensions combined . They could sell the whole package in one piece and we still buy it cause it doesnt matter, its the same demographic who can afford 1000 euros for just one vr game or thousands of euros for a star Citizen ship...
Those who cant afford or just pirate , still wont subscribe to anything, do they even have credit cards ?

 

[Galdred]

It must be the first time someone introduces a gaming subscription model as a way to save money for gamers...

 

[Wyatt_Derp]

The only gaming subscription we should pay for is internet service.

If you're saving 10%, the salesman conveniently forgets to remind you that you're still paying 90%.

 

[Infinitron]

It must be the first time someone introduces a gaming subscription model as a way to save money for gamers...

The nature of a subscription model is that it equalizes payments across the entire audience. No matter how many games you play, you pay the same monthly fee. So some gamers will pay more and others might indeed pay less.

 

[Wyatt_Derp]

It must be the first time someone introduces a gaming subscription model as a way to save money for gamers...

The nature of a subscription model is that it equalizes payments across the entire audience. No matter how many games you play, you pay the same monthly fee. So some gamers will pay more and others might indeed pay less.

So it's a big capitalist Christmas tree with a red commie star on top. That should please all those Bernie loving hipster devs and studios with a heart.

Just shut up and buy those DLCs, plebes. Nothing's stopped ya so far.

 

[passerby]

And to buy the entire package... EU IV is currently on sale. It costs 116 bucks to buy the complete bundle.
The full price when not on sale is 270 bucks.

All but one actual gameplay expansions and few cosmetics for $17 ( the only missing expansion is about playing independent colonies, or natives and has negative rating on Steam ):
https://www.humblebundle.com/games/...wos_tile_index_2_c_europauniversalisiv_bundle

Is EU IV actually any good ? I'm waiting for HoI4 bundle.

 

[Deadass]

And to buy the entire package... EU IV is currently on sale. It costs 116 bucks to buy the complete bundle.
The full price when not on sale is 270 bucks.

All but one actual gameplay expansions and few cosmetics for $17 ( the only missing expansion is about playing independent colonies, or natives and has negative rating on Steam ):
https://www.humblebundle.com/games/...wos_tile_index_2_c_europauniversalisiv_bundle

Is EU IV actually any good ? I'm waiting for HoI4 bundle.

nibba just buy the base game and crack all the DLCs like everyone does lmao

 

[I'm Big Into Anal]

 

[thesecret1]

It's not even for the whole thing, it's just for the DLCs. You still have to fork over 40 eurobucks for the base game, and THEN start making monthly deposits to Sweden. Holy shit.

 

[Straight elf]

We will not remove any content from anyone or make future content exclusive to people with a subscription.

Unique unit model available only as a bonus for subscription.

 

[Preben]

Aren't they the same people who claim that "capitalism is disease" on social medias?

 

[Stokowski]

Paradox also recently introduced an unnecessary launcher for Cities: Skylines, claiming that it would provide them with additional tools, even though those tools are already available to the devs/publishers through Steam. Cue much ado and uninstalls.

 

[The Brazilian Slaughter]

That would make more sense as a Pdox-wide gamepass.

Honestly, they should stop releasing fuckloads of DLC and just focus on a few DLCs full of features.

 

[BING XI LAO]

If Paradox actually makes buckets of money off greedy pricing and DLCs, should they be blamed, or is it the whales that should be blamed?